CSU to lead NASA study of tropical thunderstorms

FORT COLLINS — Colorado State University atmospheric science professor Susan van den Heever will help lead a $177 million NASA study of the behavior of tropical thunderstorms.

“The mission will be a collection of three small satellites, flying in tight coordination, and is called Investigation of Convective Updrafts (INCUS),” CSU said. “It is expected to launch in 2027 as part of NASA’s Earth Venture Program.”

Other members of the CSU team include professors Kristen Rasmussen and Steven Reising.

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“I am extremely excited to work with the very talented INCUS team to make these ground-breaking observations, which will better prepare us for predictions of extreme weather in current and future climates,” van den Heever said in a news release. 

City College of New York, Stony Brook University and Texas A&M University researchers will also participate in the mission.

“Every one of our Earth science missions is carefully chosen to add to a robust portfolio of research about the planet we live on,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, said in the release. “INCUS fills an important niche to help us understand extreme weather and its impact on climate models — all of which serves to provide crucial information needed to mitigate weather and climate effects on our communities.”